Source: Elizabeth Rosenthal,“Something’s fishy as Europe dines,”International Herald Tribune, January 14, 2008, (accessed: January 14, 2008).

The WWF believes that as much as 50 percent of the seafood sold in Europe is the product of illegal fishing. Source: Elizabeth Rosenthal,“Something’s fishy as Europe dines,”International Herald Tribune, January 14, 2008, (accessed: January 14, 2008).

Source: Nick Rankin, “No vessel is safe from modern pirates,” BBC News, March 11, 2008.

Illegal fishing activities has led to catches in the Caspian Sea to drop by 90 percent from historic highs. Source: C.J. Chivers, ” Corruption Endangers a Treasure of the Caspian,” York Times, November 28, 2005.

In the United States, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration opened 750 investigations into illegal fishing activities during the 2006 fiscal year in the Northeast region alone, an increase of 108 percent from 5 years ago. Source: Associated Press, ” Federal agents try to staunch tidal wave of illegal seafood,” International Herald Tribune, April 28, 2007.

The Independent reported that ” EU countries imported 591 tonnes of caviar in 2006, but seizures of illegal caviar between 2000 and 2005 totaled just 12 tonnes.” Source: Martin Hickman, ” British restaurants using black market caviar,” The Independent, July 26, 2007.

Between 1970 and 2005, the number of hammerhead sharks in the Atlantic Ocean fell by 98 percent due to fisherman killing the shark for its fins. Source: Mark Henderson, “Taste for fins puts shark on danger list,” Times (UK), February 18, 2008.

From the Independent: Its many fans call it black gold, and with good reason. The price of wild caviar has shot up by 60 per cent over the past 12 months, prompting a smuggling boom that has thrown the survival of sturgeon into doubt. The illegal trade in the little black eggs is worth an estimated [...]

The BBC has a report on modern day pirates and the various activities they undertake to earn money. From BBC News: According to the International Maritime Bureau, which runs the piracy-reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur, pirates attack different kinds of vessels for a variety of reasons. In Nigeria, pirates tend to attack vessels involved in the oil [...]

The illegal fishing trade is supplying the eating habits of Europe as fishing supplies has dwindled in the region. From the International Herald Tribune: In Europe, the imbalance between supply and demand has led to a thriving illegal trade. About 50 percent of the fish sold in the EU originates in developing nations, and much of it [...]